@etpm: "I just brought home a bottle of CO2. I will be using it instead of C25
mix for steel welding where I can and setting up a manifold for making
my own mixes. I already have regulators and flow gauges. One regulator
has the proper fitting for the CO2 cylinder. I didn't put the fitting
on though and don't know how many CFM was being run through the
regulator. At 30 CFM flow will I need to worry about frozen
regulators? I can imagine welding outside in the cold and having
things freeze up. Besides buying some backflow preventers for the
manifold should I make up some type of finned heat exchanger to warm
the CO2 as it comes out of the bottle and before it enters the
regulator?
Thanks,
Eric"
    @snag_one: "<quote>
  I actually prefer it . And yes , on cold days regulator freezing can be a 
problem . I'm not sure your heat exchanger idea will work , you'd have to 
get the gas pretty hot to offset refrigeration effect . I just switch over 
to flux core for outside work . Burns hotter , and no worries about the 
shield gas blowing away .
Snag
Learning keeps
you young ! "
    @etpm: "<quote>
The gas just needs to be kept above the freezing point of water. I
prefer using MIG over fluxcore. But you are right, fluxcore is better
for welding outside if it's breezy. And usually the outside jobs are
on the backhoe bucket or something similar where a few dingleberries
don't matter and the weld zone is often dirty. What happens when the
reg freezes?
Eric"
    @snag_one: "<quote>
  Mine over-pressurizes . As soon as I notice any frost I stop . I've had it 
go so high it pegged my flowmeter/pressure guage . Took me a while to 
correlate that with frost on the regulator . My point about temps was that 
it's just like refrigerant thru an orifice . And a drop from say 600 psi to 
around 3-5 is going to chill a lot .
Snag
Learning keeps
you young ! "
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